Leveraging Collaboration to Address ACEs & Domestic Violence

Children experience trauma at staggeringly high rates, and the effects of this trauma can span a lifetime. Studies have shown that children with higher rates of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) face an increased risk in adulthood of chronic health problems, mental illness, substance use and violence. Girls who have experienced five or more ACEs are three times more likely to be victims of domestic violence as an adult than those who experienced no ACEs.

To reduce ACEs among children and end this cycle of violence, in 2020 PHI’s Population Health Innovation Lab (PHIL) helped bring together 28 multi-sector organizations in the founding of the Northern California ACEs Collaborative. The Collaborative brings together leaders from public health. social services, probation, First 5, education, and domestic violence agencies from six rural California counties: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Tehama, and Trinity. The need for trauma informed, ACEs and domestic violence prevention techniques in these counties has grown even more urgent after the devastating California wildfires that caused major community traumas in these areas.

PHIL serves as the backbone for the Northern ACEs Collaborative, bringing the ability to synthesize data, facilitate, research, and promote cross-sector cooperation to this rural region of California where typical resources and staffing otherwise make such efforts challenging. In 2020, more than 400 people attended the first annual ACEs Summit. PHIL’s work has been the critical force in helping to initiate and foster the Collaborative, and the program is looking forward to continuing this groundbreaking work.